Chewing gum containing meadowfoam oil

ABSTRACT

Improved chewing gum formulations and bases, as well as methods of producing chewing gum and bases are provided. The chewing gum includes meadowfoam seed oils from the plant genus Limnanthes. Meadowfoam seed oils can be used in the base and/or gum as a plasticizer. In an embodiment, meadowfoam oil is added to sucrose-type gum formulations replacing a small or large quantity of other fats, oils, and waxes. A variety of base and chewing gum formulations including meadowfoam oil can be created and/or utilized pursuant to the present invention.

This application is a National Stage filing of PCT/US96/10638, filedJun. 20, 1996.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to chewing gum. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to improved formulations forchewing gum and bases.

Chewing gum generally consists of a water insoluble gum base and a watersoluble portion along with flavors. The water soluble portion andflavors dissipate during chewing and the gum base is retained in themouth throughout the chew.

The insoluble gum base generally comprises elastomers, resins, fats andoils, softeners, and inorganic fillers. Elastomers can include syntheticelastomers including polyisobutylene, isobutylene-isoprene copolymers,styrene-butadiene copolymers, polyvinyl acetate, polyisoprene,polyethylene, vinyl acetate--vinyl laurate copolymers, and combinationsthereof. Natural elastomers that can be used include natural rubber.

The gum base can include elastomer plasticizers. Such elastomerplasticizers can include natural rosin esters, as well as otherelastomer plasticizers. Additionally, the gum base can includefillers/texturizers and softeners/emulsifiers. Softeners are added tochewing gum in order to optimize the chewability and mouth feel of thegum. Softeners/emulsifiers that are typically used include tallow,hydrogenated tallow, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetableoils, cocoa butter, glycerol monostearate, glycerol triacetate,lecithin, and combinations thereof.

In addition to a water insoluble gum base portion, a typical chewing gumcomposition includes a water soluble portion and one or more flavoringagents. The water soluble portion can include bulk sweeteners, highintensity sweeteners, flavoring agents, softeners, emulsifiers, colors,acidulants, fillers, antioxidants, and other components that providedesirable attributes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides improved chewing gum formulations andbases, as well as methods of producing chewing gum and bases. Pursuantto the present invention, a gum base is provided that includesmeadowfoam oil as a plasticizer. In an embodiment, meadowfoam oil isadded to gum base formulations replacing a small or large quantity offats, oils, or waxes.

In an embodiment, meadowfoam oil replaces, in a gum base formula, atleast some of the conventional saturated fats. The meadowfoam oil canalso be used to improve flavor quality by replacing a portion or all ofthe other saturated fats in the base formula. Meadowfoam oil may alsocontrol flavor release and reduce harshness/bitterness of the flavor.

A variety of base and chewing gum formulations including meadowfoam oilcan be produced and/or utilized pursuant to the present invention. Thebase formulations of the present invention may be conventional basesthat include wax or are wax-free, tacky or non-tacky and/or bubblegum-type bases. The gum formulations can be low or high moistureformulations containing low or high amounts of moisture-containingsyrup. Meadowfoam oil can also be used in low sugar and non-sugarcontaining gum formulations made with sorbitol, mannitol, other polyols,and non-sugar carbohydrates. Non-sugar formulations can include low orhigh moisture sugar-free chewing gums.

In an embodiment, meadowfoam oil is used in the chewing gum formulationto replace typical plasticizers that are used in chewing gumformulations. For example, meadowfoam oil can be used to replaceglycerin, lecithin, glycerol triacetate, acetylated monoglycerides, andmono- and di-glycerides.

In an embodiment, meadowfoam oil is used in a chewing gum formulationcombined with other softeners, emulsifiers, and plasticizing agents. Ifdesired, meadowfoam oil can be used alone or combined with an inertmaterial which may be added in a dry form. Meadowfoam oil softener canalso be added to the flavor as a carrier for its use in chewing gum.

Meadowfoam oil when used according to the present invention, affords thechewing gum an improved texture, improved shelf life, and improvedflavor quality. Even though meadowfoam oil is similar to other fats andoils in some respects, meadowfoam oil's unique composition creates aresultant chewing gum product that has a high consumer-acceptability.

It is an advantage of the present invention to provide an improvedchewing gum formulation.

A further advantage of the present invention is to provide an improvedbase that can be used to create chewing gum.

Still further, an advantage of the present invention is that it providesan improved chewing gum plasticizer.

Moreover, an advantage of the present invention is that it provides animproved method for creating chewing gum.

Furthermore, an advantage of the present invention is that it provides achewing gum having improved texture.

An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a chewing gumhaving an improved shelf life.

Still further, an advantage of the present invention is that it providesa chewing gun having improved flavor quality.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention aredescribed in, and will be apparent from, the detailed description of thepresently preferred embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides improved chewing gum formulations andbase formulations. Pursuant to the present invention, meadowfoam oil isadded to chewing gum and base formulations. Meadowfoam oil can be usedin chewing gum formulations and/or bases. Preferably, meadowfoam oil canbe used as a plasticizer in the gum base.

Meadowfoam oil is almost a saturated fatty acid triglyceride and can beused to replace other fats in gum base that are also saturated fattyacid triglycerides. Most triglycerides used as fat in gum bases arefatty acids such as stearic acid (C18), palmitic acid (C16), lauric acid(C14), oleic acid (C18:1 unsaturated), and linoleic acid (C18:2unsaturated). These common fatty acids are derived from saturatedsoybean oil, olive oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, coconut oil, palmoil, corn oil, palm kernel oil, safflower oil, lard, tallow, and a widevariety of short and long chain fatty acids.

Generally, these fats or lipids are hydrogenated to make them saturatedfor use in gum base. Saturation of the lipids significantly improvestheir oxidation stability, which is very important for shelf life of gumbase and gum. When oil is hydrogenated it becomes a solid at roomtemperature, thus a fat.

The natural fatty acid distribution dependant of the above identifiedfats is dependant on its source. To provide a source of fatty acids aunique seed oil can be used that is obtained from another unique source,called meadowfoam.

Meadowfoam is a low-growing herbaceous winter annual wildflower from theplant genus Limnanthes native to the Pacific Coast of North America. Thename "meadowfoam" was derived from its beautiful canopy of creamy whiteflowers at full bloom. Seed kernels from the commercial meadowfoamproduced during 1985 and 1986 contain essentially all of the oil; oilcontents of about 27% to as high as 35% oil are found in the plant. Thespecies Limnanthes alba, variety alba, appears to have the bestpotential for commercialization of meadowfoam seed oil.

Meadowfoam seed oil is now commercially available from The FanningCorporation of 2450 West Hubbard Street, Chicago, Ill. and is calledFANCOR™ Meadowfoam Seed Oil. This material has been tested in cosmeticproducts and toiletry products. The Fanning Corporation researched anddeveloped this oil together with the State University of Oregon and theU.S. Department of Agriculture.

Like other vegetable oils, meadowfoam seed oil contains unsaturatedfatty acid lipids. This makes meadowfoam oil a liquid at roomtemperature. However, these unsaturated lipids are extremely stable andare highly resistant to oxidation. The use of an antioxidant inmeadowfoam oil is not necessary. The stability of meadowfoam oil isbelieved to be due to the position of the double bonds at the fifthand/or 13th carbon atoms from the carboxyl group (including carbon ofcarboxyl group) within the fatty acid chain. Thus, this vegetable oilcan be used in the gum base chewing gum and does not need to behydrogenated as discussed above.

Conventional triglycerides soften gum base by lubricating the rubberelastomers to make the elastomers workable. Plasticizers are morecompatible with the elastomer and actually become part of the elastomermatrix to modify its physical properties. It is speculated that theunsaturated long chain triglycerides are able to enter the elastomerstructure and modify it, whereas other saturated fatty acidtriglycerides are not.

FANCOR™ Meadowfoam Seed Oil has a unique property compared to othervegetable oils. Its triglycerides contain 97% fatty acids having chainlengths of 20 and 22 carbon atoms. Fatty acid compositions are shown inthe attached following table comparing meadowfoam oil with rapeseed oiland crambe oil, other seed oils with long chain fatty acids. The fattyacid for C20:1 (Δ5) is cis-5-eicosenoic acid, for C22:1 (Δ5) iscis-5-docosenoic acid, and for C22:1 (Δ13) is erucic acid.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        Typical Compositions of Long Chain Fatty Acid Sources                                    Meadowfoam    Rapeseed Crambe                                      ______________________________________                                        18:1       2             17       15                                            18:2 0.5 14 8                                                               18:3       --            7        4                                           Other < C:20                                                                             1             3        3                                             20:0 0.5 0.5 1                                                              20:1 (Δ5)                                                                          62.5          --       --                                          20:1 (Δ13)                                                                         --            9        4                                           22:1 (Δ5)                                                                          2.5           --       --                                          22:1 (Δ13)                                                                         12            48       59                                          22:2 (Δ5, Δ13)                                                               18            --       --                                          Other >C:18                                                                              0.5           0.5      6                                             Total C:20+ 96.5 60 70                                                      ______________________________________                                    

Heretofore meadowfoam oil has principally been considered for cosmeticsand toiletries although some preliminary feeding studies have been donewith no adverse effects. It should be noted that meadowfoam oil althoughis not yet food approved, its use in chewing gum and gum base as aplasticizer can give improved chewing gum formulations.

Pursuant to the present invention, meadowfoam seed oil can be used inchewing gum formulations. It can be used in a variety of differentchewing gum formulations and a variety of gum base formulations. In thisregard, meadowfoam oil can be used as a base plasticizer or softener.

Preferably meadowfoam oil will comprise about 0.01% to approximately 5%by weight of the chewing gum formulation. In a gum base formulation,meadowfoam oil may be used at about 0.02% to about 40% of the gum baseformulation. It has been shown that meadowfoam oil plasticize gum basebetter than conventional fatty acid triglycerides.

Chewing gum generally consists of a water insoluble gum base, a watersoluble portion, and flavors.

The insoluble gum base generally comprises elastomers, resins, fats andoils, softeners, and inorganic fillers. The gum base may or may notinclude wax. The insoluble gum base can constitute approximately 5 toabout 95 percent, by weight, of the chewing gum, more commonly, the gumbase comprises 10 to about 50 percent of the gum, and in some preferredembodiments, 20 to about 35 percent, by weight, of the chewing gum.

In an embodiment, the chewing gum base of the present invention containsabout 20 to about 60 weight percent synthetic elastomer, 0 to about 30weight percent natural elastomer, about 5 to about 55 weight percentelastomer plasticizer, about 4 to about 35 weight percent filler, about5 to about 35 weight percent softener, and optional minor amounts (aboutone percent or less) of miscellaneous ingredients such as colorants,antioxidants, etc. Preferably, the meadowfoam oil does not comprise morethan 40% by weight of the gum base.

Synthetic elastomers may include, but are not limited to,polyisobutylene with a GPC weight average molecular weight of about10,000 to about 95,000, isobutylene-isoprene copolymer (butylelastomer), styrene-butadiene copolymers having styrene-butadiene ratiosof about 1:3 to about 3:1, polyvinyl acetate having a GPC weight averagemolecular weight of about 2,000 to about 90,000, polyisoprene,polyethylene, vinyl acetate-vinyl laurate copolymer having vinyl lauratecontent of about 5 to about 50 percent by weight of the copolymer, andcombinations thereof.

Preferred ranges are, for polyisobutylene, 50,000 to 80,000 GPC weightaverage molecular weight, for styrene-butadiene, 1:1 to 1:3 boundstyrene-butadiene, for polyvinyl acetate, 10,000 to 65,000 GPC weightaverage molecular weight with the higher molecular weight polyvinylacetates typically used in bubble gum base, and for vinyl acetate-vinyllaurate, vinyl laurate content of 10-45 percent.

Natural elastomers may include natural rubber such as smoked or liquidlatex and guayule as well as natural gums such as jelutong, lechi caspi,perillo, sorva, massaranduba balata, massaranduba chocolate, nispero,rosindinha, chicle, gutta hang kang, and combinations thereof. Thepreferred synthetic elastomer and natural elastomer concentrations varydepending on whether the chewing gum in which the base is used isadhesive or conventional, bubble gum or regular gum, as discussed below.Preferred natural elastomers include jelutong, chicle, sorva andmassaranduba balata.

Elastomer plasticizers may include, but are not limited to, naturalrosin esters, often called estergums, such as glycerol esters ofpartially hydrogenated rosin, glycerol esters polymerized rosin,glycerol esters of partially dimerized rosin, glycerol esters of rosin,pentaerythritol esters of partially hydrogenated rosin, methyl andpartially hydrogenated methyl esters of rosin, pentaerythritol esters ofrosin; synthetics such as terpene resins derived from alpha-pinene,beta-pinene, and/or d-limonene; and any suitable combinations of theforegoing. The preferred elastomer plasticizers will also vary dependingon the specific application, and on the type of elastomer which is used.

Fillers/texturizers may include magnesium and calcium carbonate, groundlimestone, silicate types such as magnesium and aluminum silicate, clay,alumina, talc, titanium oxide, mono-, di- and tri-calcium phosphate,cellulose polymers, such as wood, and combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, in addition to meadowfoam oil, pursuant to the presentinvention, softeners/emulsifiers may include tallow, hydrogenatedtallow, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, cocoabutter, glycerol monostearate, glycerol triacetate, lecithin, mono-, di-and triglycerides, acetylated monoglycerides, fatty acids (e.g. stearic,palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids), and combinations thereof.

Colorants and whiteners may include FD&C-type dyes and lakes, fruit andvegetable extracts, titanium dioxide, and combinations thereof.

The base may or may not include wax. An example of a wax-free gum baseis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,500, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

In addition to a water insoluble gum base portion, a typical chewing gumcomposition includes a water soluble bulk portion and one or moreflavoring agents. The water soluble portion can include bulk sweeteners,high intensity sweeteners, flavoring agents, softeners, emulsifiers,colors, acidulants, fillers, antioxidants, and other components thatprovide desired attributes.

The softeners, which are also known as plasticizers and plasticizingagents, generally constitute between approximately 0.5 to about 15% byweight of the chewing gum. The softeners may, in addition to includingmeadowfoam oil, include glycerin, lecithin, and combinations thereof.Aqueous sweetener solutions such as those containing sorbitol,hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, corn syrup and combinations thereof,may also be used as softeners and binding agents in chewing gum.

Bulk sweeteners include both sugar and sugarless components. Bulksweeteners typically constitute 5 to about 95% by weight of the chewinggum, more typically, 20 to 80% by weight, and more commonly, 30 to 60%by weight of the gum.

Sugar sweeteners generally include saccharide-containing componentscommonly known in the chewing gum art, including, but not limited to,sucrose, dextrose, maltose, dextrin, dried invert sugar, fructose,levulose, galactose, corn syrup solids, and the like, alone or incombination.

Sorbitol can be used as a sugarless sweetener. Additionally, sugarlesssweeteners can include, but are not limited to, other sugar alcoholssuch as mannitol, xylitol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, maltitol,lactitol, and the like, alone or in combination.

High intensity artificial sweeteners can also be used in combinationwith the above. Preferred sweeteners include, but are not limited tosucralose, aspartame, salts of acesulfame, alitame, saccharin and itssalts, cyclamic acid and its salts, glycyrrhizin, dihydrochalcones,thaumatin, monellin, and the like, alone or in combination. In order toprovide longer lasting sweetness and flavor perception, it may bedesirable to encapsulate or otherwise control the release of at least aportion of the artificial sweetener. Such techniques as wet granulation,wax granulation, spray drying, spray chilling, fluid bed coating,coacervation, and fiber extension may be used to achieve the desiredrelease characteristics.

Usage level of the artificial sweetener will vary greatly and willdepend on such factors as potency of the sweetener, rate of release,desired sweetness of the product, level and type of flavor used and costconsiderations. Thus, the active level of artificial sweetener may varyfrom 0.02 to about 8%. When carriers used for encapsulation areincluded, the usage level of the encapsulated sweetener will beproportionately higher.

Combinations of sugar and/or sugarless sweeteners may be used in chewinggum. Additionally, the softener may also provide additional sweetnesssuch as with aqueous sugar or alditol solutions.

If a low calorie gum is desired, a low caloric bulking agent can beused. Example of low caloric bulking agents include: polydextrose;Raftilose, Raftilin; Fructooligosaccharides (NutraFlora); Palatinoseoligosaccharide; Guar Gum Hydrolysate (Sun Fiber); or indigestibledextrin (Fibersol). However, other low calorie bulking agents can beused.

A variety of flavoring agents can be used. The flavor can be used inamounts of approximately 0.1 to about 15 weight percent of the gum, andpreferably, about 0.2 to about 5%. Flavoring agents may includeessential oils, synthetic flavors or mixtures thereof including, but notlimited to, oils derived from plants and fruits such as citrus oils,fruit essences, peppermint oil, spearmint oil, other mint oils, cloveoil, oil of wintergreen, anise and the like. Artificial flavoring agentsand components may also be used. Natural and artificial flavoring agentsmay be combined in any sensorially acceptable fashion.

The present invention, it is believed, can be used with a variety ofprocesses for manufacturing chewing gum.

Chewing gum is generally manufactured by sequentially adding the variouschewing gum ingredients to commercially available mixers known in theart. After the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed, the chewing gummass is discharged from the mixer and shaped into the desired form, suchas by rolling into sheets and cutting into sticks, extruding intochunks, or casting into pellets.

Generally, the ingredients are mixed by first melting the gum base andadding it to the running mixer. The gum base may alternatively be meltedin the mixer. Color and emulsifiers can be added at this time.

A chewing gum softener such as glycerin can be added next along withpart of the bulk portion. Further parts of the bulk portion may then beadded to the mixer. Flavoring agents are typically added with the finalpart of the bulk portion. The entire mixing process typically takes 5 to15 minutes, although longer mixing times are sometimes required.

Meadowfoam oil in its liquid form may be added to chewing gum duringmanufacture of the base. Meadowfoam oil may be added at any time duringprocessing of the base, but preferably, near the end of the batch to actas a softener.

Meadowfoam oil may be added to conventional bases that contain wax orare wax-free bases, that may or may not contain polyvinyl acetate orterpene resins, or bases that contain natural gums or synthetic bases,bases that are non-tacky, or are bubble gum bases.

At levels of approximately 0.02% to about 40% by weight of the gum base,meadowfoam oil may replace some or most of the partially hydrogenated orhydrogenated vegetable oils, mono- and di-glycerides, acetylatedmonoglycerides, or other softeners used in the gum base. Meadowfoam oilmay also be blended with the other softeners in the gum base and addedduring the base manufacturing process. A chewing gum base made withmeadowfoam oil will have greater oxidative stability due to the presenceof meadowfoam oil, and will give chewing gum a cleaner taste due to areduction of off-tasting fats and oils.

Meadowfoam oil may also be added to a chewing gum formulation in itsliquid form or may be mixed with other gum or base softeners and addedto a gum formulation during processing. Meadowfoam oil may be addedduring the gum manufacturing at any time during processing, butpreferably, early in the batch to allow thorough mixing with the gumbase.

Meadowfoam oil can be added to the chewing gum formulation so that itcomprises approximately 0.01% to about 5% by weight of the chewing gumformulation. In a preferred embodiment, meadowfoam oil comprisesapproximately 0.02% to about 2% and most preferably, about 0.05% toabout 0.5% by weight of the chewing gum formulation. Meadowfoam oil maybe blended with other softeners such as lecithin, glycerol triacetate,acetylated monoglycerides, mono- and di-glycerides, or other vegetableoils and fats that may be added to a gum formulation. When a solidsoftener is used, such as lecithin, meadowfoam oil may act as a carrieror solvent for the particulate lecithin. Lecithin when mixed withmeadowfoam oil may allow for an easier dispersion of lecithin in a gumformulation. This should be contrasted with soy bean oil that istypically used as a carrier for lecithin.

Meadowfoam oil may also be blended with a wide range of natural andartificial flavor oils and act as a carrier for flavor oils. Meadowfoamoil can be an excellent carrier for flavors such as spearmint,peppermint, cinnamon, wintergreen, and fruit flavors. The level ofmeadowfoam oil mixed with flavors can vary over a wide range fromapproximately 1% to about 99% by weight since most gum flavors are oilsoluble.

Meadowfoam oil can also act as a carrier for artificial and naturalcolors such as in FD&C lake dispersions and natural colors likebetacarotene. Meadowfoam oil can reduce the off-taste associated withsome fat/oil carriers and allows higher usage of color.

Meadowfoam oil may also be used as a release agent for encapsulatedflavors. Meadowfoam oil can be added to an encapsulating media to allowfor faster and easier dissolution of the encapsulating media.

By way of example, and not limitation, examples of the present inventionwill now be given:

EXAMPLES

Example No. 1

A method for measuring plasticization effect is the Glass TransitionTemperature (Tg) of a material or a blend of materials. If a materialacts as a plasticizer to another material, the Tg will be modifiedaccordingly.

In the case of the elastomer butyl rubber, which is an isobutyl-isoprenecopolymer, the Tg of a mixture of 25 grams of butyl rubber and 24 gramsof calcium carbonate, which is inert, was -61.3° C. The mixture wasblended on a Haake Internal Mixer at 130° C., 60 rpm for 20 minutes, andanalyzed to obtain the Tg by DSC from -160° C. to +100° C. at 20°C./minute.

The results shown below are for various materials used as plasticizersadded to the above mixture at a level of 11 grams of plasticizer.

    ______________________________________                                                        Tg     Major fatty acid                                       ______________________________________                                        Comparison-butyl rubber only                                                                    -61.3° C.                                              Medium chain triglycerides (MCT                                                                        's) -68.3° C. C8/C10                          Meadowfoam oil -67.2° C. C20:1/C22:1/C22:2                             Coconut oil -63.3° C. C12/C14/C16                                      Hydrogenated cottonseed oil -62.1° C. C16/C18                        ______________________________________                                    

The results indicate that a typical plasticizer/softener for gum base,hydrogenated cottonseed oil, reduces the Tg of butyl rubber by only 0.8°C. A better plasticizer/softener is coconut oil which contains asignificant amount of MCTs. A much better plasticizer/softener ismeadowfoam oil which has seduced the Tg by 5.9° C., whereas coconut oilseduced the Tg by only 2.0° C. Another very good plasticizer is MCTswhich reduced the Tg by 7.0° C.

In addition, other elastomers would also be effected in a similar manneras butyl rubber, such as the synthetic elastomer, styrene butadinerubber (SBR). Natural rubbers such as chicle, jelutong, sorva, andMassaranduba Balata would probably also be more plasticized withmeadowfoam oil.

CONTEMPLATIVE EXAMPLES

The following contemplative examples of the invention and comparativeexamples are provided by way of explanation and illustration.

The formulas listed in Table I comprise various contemplative sugarformulas in which meadowfoam oil (MFO) can be added at various levels togum.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        (WEIGHT PERCENT)                                                                       Ex. 1   Ex. 2   Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6                              ______________________________________                                        Sugar    61.55   61.5    61.35 62.5  62.0  61.0                                 Base 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2                                            Corn Syrup 16.9 16.9 16.9 16.9 16.9 16.9                                      Peppermint 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9                                            Flavor                                                                        Glycerin 1.4 1.4 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0                                              MFO 0.05 0.10 0.25 0.50 1.0 2.0                                             ______________________________________                                    

In Table 2, dextrose monohydrate is added to a sugar formula withvarious levels of meadowfoam oil.

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                               Ex. 7 Ex. 8   Ex. 9   Ex. 10                                                                              Ex. 11                                                                              Ex. 12                               ______________________________________                                        Sugar    55.65   55.6    55.45 56.2  55.7  54.7                                 Base 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2                                            Corn Syrup 12.9 12.9 12.9 12.9 12.9 12.9                                      Glycerin 1.4 1.4 1.4 0.4 0.4 0.4                                              Dextrose 9.9 9.9 9.9 9.9 9.9 9.9                                              Monohydrate                                                                   Peppermint 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9                                            Flavor                                                                        MFO 0.05 0.10 0.25 0.50 1.0 2.0                                             ______________________________________                                    

Examples 13-18 are the same as Examples 7-12 except that meadowfoam oilis pre-blended with the peppermint flavor and added to the gumformulation.

The following Tables 4 through 11 give examples of gum formulationsdemonstrating formula variations in which meadowfoam oil (MFO), in theform of liquid oil, can be used.

Examples 19-23 in Table 4 demonstrate the use of meadowfoam oil (MFO) inlow-moisture sugar formulations having less than 2% theoreticalmoisture:

                  TABLE 4                                                         ______________________________________                                               Ex. 19 Ex. 20   Ex. 21  Ex. 22 Ex. 23                                  ______________________________________                                        Sugar    58.75    58.6     58.3  52.7   51.9                                    Gum Base 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2                                             Corn Syrup.sup.a 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0                                          Dextrose 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0                                             Monohydrate                                                                   Lactose 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 5.0                                                   Glycerin.sup.b 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0                                            Flavor 0.9 0.9 0.9.sup.d 0.9.sup.d 0.9.sup.d                                Lecithin.sup.c                                                                         0.1      0.1      0.1   0.2    --                                    MFO.sup.c                                                                              0.05     0.2      0.5.sup.d                                                                           1.0.sup.d                                                                            2.0.sup.d                             ______________________________________                                         .sup.a Corn syrup is evaporated to 85% solids, 15% moisture.                  .sup.b Glycerin and syrup can be blended and coevaporated.                    .sup.c Lecithin and MFO can be preblended.                                    .sup.d Flavor and MFO can be preblended.                                 

Examples 24-28 in Table 5 demonstrate the use of meadowfoam oil inmedium-moisture sugar formulations having about 2% to about 5% moisture.

                  TABLE 5                                                         ______________________________________                                               Ex. 24 Ex. 25   Ex. 26  Ex. 27 Ex. 28                                  ______________________________________                                        Sugar    53.35    53.2     52.9  52.3   51.5                                    Gum Base 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2 19.2                                             Corn Syrup.sup.a 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0                                     Dextrose 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0                                             Monohydrate                                                                   Glycerin.sup.b 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4                                            Flavor 0.9.sup.d 0.9.sup.d 0.9.sup.d 0.9.sup.d 0.9.sup.d                    Lecithin.sup.c                                                                         0.1      0.1      0.1   0.2    --                                    MFO.sup.c                                                                              0.05.sup.d                                                                             0.2.sup.d                                                                              0.5.sup.d                                                                           1.0.sup.d                                                                            2.0.sup.d                             ______________________________________                                         .sup.a Corn syrup is evaporated to 85% solids, 15% moisture.                  .sup.b Glycerin and syrup can be blended and coevaporated.                    .sup.c MFO and Lecithin can be preblended.                                    .sup.d Flavor and MFO can be preblended.                                 

Examples 29-33 in Table 6 demonstrate the use of meadowfoam oil in highmoisture sugar formulations having more than about 5% moisture.

                  TABLE 6                                                         ______________________________________                                               Ex. 29 Ex. 30   Ex. 31  Ex. 32 Ex. 33                                  ______________________________________                                        Sugar    50.95    50.7     50.4  48.9   48.0                                    Gum Base 24.0 24.0 24.0 24.0 24.0                                             Corn Syrup 24.0 24.0 24.0 24.6 24.6                                           Glycerin 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.4                                                  Flavor 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0                                                  Lecithin*                                                                              --       0.1      0.1   0.1    --                                    MFO      0.05     0.2      0.5   1.0    2.0                                   ______________________________________                                         *Lecithin and MFO can be preblended.                                     

Examples 34-38 in Table 7 and Examples 39-48 in Tables 8 and 9demonstrate the use of meadowfoam oil in low- and high-moisture gumsthat are sugar-free. Low-moisture gums have less than about 2% moisture,and high-moisture gums have greater than 2% moisture.

                  TABLE 7                                                         ______________________________________                                        Ex. 34       Ex. 35   Ex. 36   Ex. 37 Ex. 38                                  ______________________________________                                        Base    25.5     25.5     25.5   25.5   25.5                                    Sorbitol 50.85 50.7 50.5 50.0 48.0                                            Mannitol 12.0 12.0 12.0 12.0 13.0                                             Glycerin 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0                                             Flavor 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5                                                  Lecithin*                                                                             0.1      0.1      --     --     --                                    MFO     0.05     0.2      0.5    1.0    2.0                                   ______________________________________                                         *Lecithin and MFO can be preblended.                                          **Flavor and MFO can be preblended.                                      

                  TABLE 8                                                         ______________________________________                                        Ex. 39       Ex. 40   Ex. 41   Ex. 42 Ex. 43                                  ______________________________________                                        Base    25.5     25.5     25.5   25.5   25.5                                    Sorbitol 50.95 50.8 50.5 51.9 49.8                                            Sorbitol 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 11.0                                             Liquid*                                                                       Mannitol 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0                                             Glycerin 2.0 2.0 2.0 0.0 0.0                                                  Flavor 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5                                                  Lecithin**                                                                            --       --       --     0.1    0.2                                   MFO     0.05     0.2      0.5    1.0    2.0                                   ______________________________________                                         *Sorbitol liquid contains 70% sorbitol, 30% water.                            **Lecithin and MFO can be preblended.                                         ***Flavor and MFO can be preblended.                                     

                  TABLE 9                                                         ______________________________________                                               Ex. 44 Ex. 45   Ex. 46  Ex. 47 Ex. 48                                  ______________________________________                                        Base     25.5     25.5     25.5  25.5   25.5                                    Sorbitol 50.95 50.7 50.4 52.0 51.0                                            HSH Syrup* 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0                                           Mannitol 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 9.0                                                  Glycerin** 4.0 4.0 4.0 2.0 1.0                                                Flavor 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5                                                  Lecithin***                                                                            --       0.1      0.1   --     --                                    MFO****  0.05     0.2      0.5   1.0    2.0                                   ______________________________________                                         *Lycasin brand hydrogenated starch hydrolyzate syrup.                         **Glycerin and HSH syrup may be blended or coevaporated.                      ***Lecithin and MFO can be preblended.                                        ****Flavor and MFO can be preblended.                                    

Table 10 shows sugar chewing gum formulations that can be made withmeadowfoam oil and various types of sugars.

                  TABLE 10                                                        ______________________________________                                                 Ex. 49  Ex. 50  Ex. 51                                                                              Ex. 52                                                                              Ex. 53                                                                              Ex. 54                             ______________________________________                                        Gum Base 19.2    19.2    19.2  19.2  19.2  19.2                                 Sucrose 49.4 48.5 44.4 43.5 34.4 43.5                                         Glycerin 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4                                              Corn Syrup 14.0 14.0 14.0 14.0 14.0 14.0                                    Dextrose 5.0     5.0     --    --    10.0  5.0                                Lactose  5.0     5.0     10.0  10.0  --    --                                 Fructose 5.0     5.0     10.0  10.0  10.0  5.0                                Invert Sugar                                                                           --      --      --    --    10.0  10.0                               Maltose  --      --      --    --    --    --                                   Corn Syrup -- -- -- -- -- --                                                  Solids                                                                      Peppermint                                                                             0.9     0.9     0.9   0.9   0.9   0.9                                  Flavor                                                                        MFO 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0                                                 ______________________________________                                                 Ex. 55  Ex. 56  Ex. 57                                                                              Ex. 58                                                                              Ex. 59                                                                              Ex. 60                             ______________________________________                                        Gum Base 19.2    19.2    19.2  19.2  19.2  19.2                                 Sucrose 34.4 43.5 34.4 43.5 42.4 46.5                                         Glycerin 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4                                              Corn Syrup 14.0 14.0 14.0 14.0 11.0 11.0                                      Dextrose 10.0 5.0 10.0 5.0 10.0 5.0                                         Lactose  --      --      --    --    --    --                                 Fructose 10.0    5.0     10.0  5.0   5.0   5.0                                Invert Sugar                                                                           10.0    10.0    --    --    5.0   5.0                                Maltose  --      --      10.0  10.0  --    --                                 Corn Syrup                                                                             --      --      --    --    5.0   5.0                                  Solids                                                                      Peppermint                                                                             0.9     0.9     0.9   0.9   0.9   0.9                                  Flavor                                                                        MFO 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0                                                 ______________________________________                                                 Ex. 61  Ex. 62                                                       ______________________________________                                        Gum Base 19.2    19.2                                                           Sucrose 42.4 36.5                                                             Glycerin 6.4 6.4                                                              Corn Syrup 11.0 11.0                                                          Dextrose 5.0 5.0                                                              Lactose                                                                       Fructose 5.0 5.0                                                              Invert Sugar 5.0 5.0                                                        Maltose  --      --                                                           Corn Syrup                                                                             5.0*    10.0*                                                        Solids                                                                          Peppermint 0.9 0.9                                                            Flavor                                                                        MFO 0.1 1.0                                                                 ______________________________________                                         *5-25DE maltodextrin can be used.                                        

Table 11 shows chewing gum formulations that are free of sugar. Theseformulations can use a wide variety of other non-sugar alditols.

                  TABLE 11                                                        ______________________________________                                        (WEIGHT PERCENT)                                                                      Ex. 63  Ex. 64  Ex. 65                                                                              Ex. 66                                                                              Ex. 67                                                                              Ex. 68                              ______________________________________                                        Gum Base                                                                              25.5    25.5    25.5  25.5  25.5  25.5                                  Glycerin 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0                                              Sorbitol 43.9 43.0 43.9 38.0 37.9 39.0                                      Mannitol                                                                              --      10.0    10.0  10.0  10.0  6.0                                 Sorbitol                                                                              17.0    17.0    --    --    --    --                                    Liquid                                                                      Lycasin --      --      17.0  12.0  8.0   10.0                                Maltitol                                                                              10.0    --      --    10.0  --    --                                  Xylitol --      --      --    --    15.0  15.0                                Lactitol                                                                              --      --      --    --    --    --                                    Palatinit -- -- -- -- -- --                                                 Flavor  1.5     1.5     1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5                                   MPO 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0                                                 ______________________________________                                                Ex. 69  Ex. 70  Ex. 71                                                                              Ex. 72                                                                              Ex. 73                                                                              Ex. 74                              ______________________________________                                        Gum Base                                                                              25.5    25.5    25.5  25.5  25.5  25.5                                  Glycerin 8.0 8.0 8.0 2.0 1.0 0.0                                              Sorbitol 41.9 36.0 31.9 40.0 26.9 21.0                                      Mannitol                                                                              8.0     8.0     8.0   --    --    --                                  Sorbitol                                                                              5.0     --      --    --    --    --                                    Liquid                                                                      Lycasin --      5.0     5.0   5.0   10.0  10.0                                Maltitol                                                                              --      5.0     --    --    --    --                                  Xylitol --      --      --    15.0  10.0  20.0                                Lactitol                                                                              10.0    10.0    10.0  --    --    --                                  Palatinit                                                                             --      --      10.0  10.0  25.0  21.0                                Flavor  1.5     1.5     1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5                                   MFO 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.0                                                 ______________________________________                                    

The following examples of the invention are also shown in Table 12 fornatural and synthetic gum bases with wax, Table 13 for chewing gum basesthat are wax-free and have some reduced tack properties, Table 14 forwax free bubble gum bases, and Table 15 for wax-free gum bases havingnon-tack characteristics. These examples illustrate how meadowfoam oil(MFO) can be added to a wide variety of chewing gum bases to partiallyreplace some of the oils, fats, and base softeners.

                  TABLE 12                                                        ______________________________________                                        NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC BASES WITH WAX                                            (WEIGHT PERCENT)                                                                                Ex. 75  Ex. 76  Ex. 77                                    ______________________________________                                        Butyl Rubber        11.7    10.0    9.0                                       Styrene Butadiene Rubber                                                                          --      --      --                                        Polyisobutylene     --      10.4    5.3                                       Jelutong            --      --      --                                        Ester Gum           14.8    --      --                                        Terpene Resin       9.9     6.8     16.7                                        Low MW Polyvinylacetate 21.2 23.2 24.6                                      High MW Polyvinylacetate                                                                          --      --      --                                          Talc -- -- --                                                               Calcium Carbonate   11.2    14.7    20.1                                      Acetylated Monoglyceride                                                                          --      --        --                                      Hydrogenated Cotton Seed Oil                                                                      --      10.0    3.3                                       Hydrogenated Soybean Oil                                                                          9.0     11.1    3.3                                       Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and                                                                --      2.3     --                                          Palm Oil                                                                    Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil                                                             --      --      --                                        MFO                 5.7     4.3     4.2                                       Lecithin            2.7     --      0.8                                       Glycerol Monostearate                                                                             4.8     4.1     4.2                                       Triacetin           --      --      --                                        Microcrystalline Wax (MP 180° F.)                                                          6.0     3.1     8.5                                       Paraffin Wax (MP 135° F.)                                                                  3.0     --      --                                                            100.0   100.0   100.0                                     ______________________________________                                    

    ______________________________________                                        BUBBLE BASES                                                                                      Ex. 78  Ex. 79  Ex. 80                                    ______________________________________                                        Butyl Rubber        --      --      2.5                                       Styrene Butadiene Rubber                                                                          10.3    1.6     --                                        Polyisobutylene     --      9.1     9.0                                       Jelutong            --      --      --                                        Ester Gum           24.7    22.5    15.0                                      Terpene Resin       --      --      --                                          Low MW Polyvinylacetate -- -- --                                            High MW Polyvinylacetate                                                                          --      30.0    24.1                                      Talc                --      --      25.4                                      Calcium Carbonate   56.8    21.7    --                                        Acetylated Monoglyceride                                                                          --      --      4.0                                       Hydrogenated Cotton Seed Oil                                                                      1.5     --      --                                        Hydrogenated Soybean Oil                                                                          --      --      --                                        Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and                                                                --      2.0     --                                          Palm Oil                                                                    Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil                                                             --      --      --                                        MFO                 1.5     1.5     2.0                                       Lecithin            --      --      1.5                                       Glycerol Monostearate                                                                             1.1     --      7.1                                       Triacetin           --      4.5     3.2                                       Microcrystalline Wax (MP 180° F.)                                                          --      --      1.2                                       Paraffin Wax (MP 135° F.)                                                                  4.1     7.1     5.0                                          100.0 100.0 100.0                                                          ______________________________________                                                            Ex. 81  Ex. 82  Ex. 83                                    ______________________________________                                          Butyl Rubber 6.8 6.8 8.8                                                      Styrene Butadiene Rubber --  -- --                                            Polyisobutylene 3.0 3.2 4.1                                                   Jelutong 21.1  18.2  4.0                                                      Ester Gum 16.7  16.6  --                                                      Terpene Resin -- -- 17.3                                                      Low MW Polyvinylacetate 16.6  16.1  25.0                                      High MW Polyvinylacetate -- -- --                                             Talc -- -- 18.1                                                               Calcium Carbonate 13.2  19.7  --                                              Acetylated Monoglyceride -- -- --                                             Hydrogenated Cotton Seed Oil 2.3 -- 4.5                                       Hydrogenated Soybean Oil -- 3.2 2.7                                           Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and -- -- --                                   Palm Oil                                                                      Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil -- 2.0 --                               MFO 3.0 1.8 3.3                                                               Lecithin -- -- --                                                             Glycerol Monostearate 2.1 4.5 4.1                                             Triacetin -- -- --                                                            Microcrystalline Wax (MP 180° F.) 15.2  6.8 6.1                        Paraffin Wax (MP 135° F.) --  1.1 2.0                                   100.0  100.0  100.0                                                        ______________________________________                                           Ex. 84                                                                        Bubble                                                                        Base Ex. 85 Ex. 86                                                         ______________________________________                                          Butyl Rubber -- 9.1 9.3                                                       Styrene Butadiene Rubber -- -- --                                             Polyisobutylene 8.0 3.5 10.5                                                  Jelutong -- 3.1 --                                                            Ester Gum 14.7  1.5 --                                                        Terpene Resin -- 15.0  13.0                                                   Low MW Polyvinylacetate -- 22.8  23.0                                         High MW Polyvinylacetate 34.5  -- --                                          Talc 28.6  -- --                                                              Calcium Carbonate -- 23.0  14.9                                               Acetylated Monoglyceride 2.5 -- --                                            Hydrogenated Cotton Seed Oil -- 4.6 8.0                                       Hydrogenated Soybean Oil -- 2.9 5.2                                           Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and -- -- 3.1                                  Palm Oil                                                                      Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil -- -- 1.5                               MFO 0.9 2.4 2.1                                                               Lecithin -- 0.8 --                                                            Glycerol Monostearate 4.4 2.8 4.5                                             Triacetin 4.6 -- --                                                           Microcrystalline Wax (MP 180° F.) -- 7.0 4.4                           Paraffin Wax (MP 135° F.) 1.8 1.5 0.5                                   100.0  100.0  100.0                                                        ______________________________________                                             Ex. 89                                                                        Bubble                                                                      Ex. 87 Ex. 88 Base                                                         ______________________________________                                          Butyl Rubber 6.1 8.1 --                                                       Styrene Butadiene Rubber -- -- 6.0                                            Polyisobutylene 7.1 5.5 7.5                                                   Jelutong -- -- --                                                             Ester Gum -- 7.1 12.2                                                         Terpene Resin 14.1  7.1 --                                                    Low MW Polyvinylacetate 28.1  22.2  --                                        High MW Polyvinylacetate -- -- 29.0                                           Talc -- -- 28.9                                                               Calcium Carbonate 18.9 25.6  --                                               Acetylated Monoglyceride -- -- 3.7                                            Hydrogenated Cotton Seed Oil 10.1  13.2  2.7                                  Hydrogenated Soybean Oil 5.1 5.1 --                                           Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and -- -- --                                   Palm Oil                                                                      Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil -- -- --                                MFO 4.1 4.1 1.3                                                               Lecithin 0.7 0.5 --                                                           Glycerol Monostearate 1.5 1.5 3.1                                             Triacetin -- -- 1.2                                                           Microcrystalline Wax (MP 180° F.) 3.1 -- 4.4                           Paraffin Wax (MP 135° F.) 1.1 -- --                                     100.0  100.0  100.0                                                        ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 13                                    __________________________________________________________________________    WAX-FREE GUM BASES FOR USE IN CHEWING GUM                                       HAVING SOME REDUCED TACK CHARACTERISTICS                                      (EXAMPLES 90-119)                                                           EXAMPLES 90-94                                                                                    IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                              GENERIC INGREDIENTS 90  91  92  93  94                                        __________________________________________________________________________    ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                       STYRENE-BUTADIENE ELASTOMER 5.3 --  2.1 1.8 --                                BUTYL (ISOPRENE-ISOBUTYLENE) 8.6 7.9 7.2 -- 8.1                               ELASTOMER                                                                     POLYISOBUTYLENE ELASTOMER 7.1 -- 7.4 24.8  3.6                                POLYVINYL ACETATE 10.5  27.2  15.3  10.1  27.3                                ** ELASTOMER PLASTICIZERS **                                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF ROSIN 2.1 -- 19.0  3.7 --                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF PART 4.3 18.2  -- 7.9 --                                   HYD ROSIN                                                                     TERPENE RESINS 10.8 -- -- 7.1 26.8                                            ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE -- 15.9  20.7  17.7  11.4                                   TALC 25.5  -- -- -- --                                                        ** SOFTENER **                                                                HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL -- 6.0 -- 7.0 --                                  HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL 4.3 -- 6.1 -- --                                     PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN 3.3 -- 6.0 -- 9.1                              AND PALM OIL                                                                  PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED -- 5.3 -- 7.0 --                                       COTTONSEED OIL                                                                MFO 7.7 11.3  12.2  7.0 5.2                                                   GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 8.2 7.4 4.0 3.5 4.8                                     LECITHIN 2.3 0.8 -- 2.4 3.7                                                   TOTAL PERCENT 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0                             __________________________________________________________________________

    __________________________________________________________________________    EXAMPLES 95-97                                                                                        IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                          GENERIC INGREDIENTS     95   96   97                                          __________________________________________________________________________    ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                       STYRENE-BUTADIENE ELASTOMER 5.2 2.1 5.9                                       BUTYL (ISOPRENE-ISOBUTYLENE) 4.1 7.2 6.9                                      ELASTOMER                                                                     POLYISOBUTYLENE ELASTOMER 5.9 7.3 2.0                                         POLYVINYL ACETATE 25.7   15.3  24.8                                           ** ELASTOMER PLASTICIZERS **                                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF ROSIN 23.5  19.1  8.6                                      GLYCEROL ESTERS OF PART HYD ROSIN -- -- 8.0                                   TERPENE RESINS 3.2 -- 1.9                                                     ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE 15.1  20.7  9.9                                             TALC -- -- 7.2                                                                ** SOFTENER **                                                                HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL -- -- 7.0                                         HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL -- -- --                                             PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN 5.5 8.3 10.1                                   AND PALM OIL                                                                  PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL 3.0 9.6 --                              MFO 3.7 6.4 4.0                                                               GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 5.1 4.0 3.7                                             LECITHIN --  -- --                                                            TOTAL PERCENT 100.0  100.0  100.0                                           __________________________________________________________________________

    __________________________________________________________________________    EXAMPLES 98-101                                                                                       IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                          GENERIC INGREDIENTS     98  99  100 101                                       __________________________________________________________________________    ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                       STYRENE-BUTADIENE ELASTOMER 3.9 2.1 --  --                                    BUTYL (ISOPRENE-ISOBUTYLENE) ELASTOMER 5.3 6.0 8.9 3.6                        POLYISOBUTYLENE ELASTOMER 12.7  8.5 10.0  11.1                                POLYVINYL ACETATE 14.9  15.3  21.3  21.9                                      ** ELASTOMER PLASTICIZERS **                                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF ROSIN -- 10.1  -- 19.6                                     GLYCEROL ESTERS OF PART HYD ROSIN -- 8.9 -- 11.2                              TERPENE RESINS 21.4  -- 9.7 3.7                                               ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE 13.7  20.9  21.5  6.4                                       TALC 1.4 -- -- --                                                             ** SOFTENER **                                                                HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL -- 4.2 -- 5.0                                     HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL 1.7 -- 5.0 --                                        PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN -- -- -- 10                                    AND PALM OIL                                                                  PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL -- -- 15.0  --                          MFO 17.0  20.0  3.2 4.2                                                       GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 5.7 4.0 5.4 3.3                                         LECITHIN 2.3 -- -- --                                                         TOTAL PERCENT 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0                                    __________________________________________________________________________

    __________________________________________________________________________    EXAMPLES 102-106                                                                                  IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                              GENERIC INGREDIENTS 102 103 104 105 106                                       __________________________________________________________________________    ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                       STYRENE-BUTADIENE ELASTOMER --  3.2 4.1 -- --                                 BUTYL (ISOPRENE-ISOBUTYLENE) 7.4 7.3 11.3  10.0  8.3                          ELASTOMER                                                                     POLYISOBUTYLENE ELASTOMER 1.9 7.5 7.9 1.9 3.6                                 POLYVINYL ACETATE 24.8  21.1  18.2  27.6  27.5                                ** ELASTOMER PLASTICIZERS **                                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF ROSIN -- 15.3  -- -- --                                    GLYCEROL ESTERS OF PART                                                       HYD ROSIN -- 2.4 26.2  -- --                                                  TERPENE RESINS 25.8  5.8 1.4 25.3  25.3                                       ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE 18.6  -- 13.6  11.3  11.3                                   TALC -- 14.8  -- -- --                                                        ** SOFTENER **                                                                HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL 2.0 4.4 1.2 -- --                                 HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL -- -- -- 2.4 4.0                                     PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN -- 4.0 -- -- 4.2                               AND PALM OIL                                                                  PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED -- -- -- -- --                                         COTTONSEED OIL                                                                MFO 10.3  11.4  7.0 13.0  8.3                                                 GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 4.4 2.8 5.2 4.8 4.8                                     LECITHIN 4.8 -- 3.9 3.7 2.7                                                   TOTAL PERCENT 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0                             __________________________________________________________________________

    __________________________________________________________________________    EXAMPLES 107-110                                                                                   IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                             GENERIC INGREDIENTS  107 108  109 110                                         __________________________________________________________________________    ** NATURAL ELASTOMER **                                                         NATURAL GUM 22.0   25.1  22.8  17.6                                           ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                     STYRENE-BUTADIENE ELASTOMER -- 1.9 2.6 --                                     BUTYL (ISOPRENE-ISOBUTYLENE) 4.8 2.1 4.1 10.2                                 ELASTOMER                                                                     POLYISOBUTYLENE ELASTOMER 5.7 4.7 3.2 2.1                                     POLYVINYL ACETATE 16.4  24.8  16.3  26.9                                      ** ELASTOMER PLASTICIZERS **                                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF ROSIN 3.8 3.2 6.9 11.3                                     GLYCEROL ESTERS OF PART 12.3  12.6  11.8  4.8                                 HYD ROSIN                                                                     METHYL ESTERS OF ROSIN -- 2.1 1.7 --                                          TERPENE RESINS -- -- -- --                                                    ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE -- 4.4 9.3 --                                               TALC 7.1 -- -- 4.6                                                            ** SOFTENER **                                                                HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL -- -- 10.0  --                                    HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL 5.0 -- -- 5.6                                        PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN 11.0  12.0  3.7 5.0                            AND PALM OIL                                                                  PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED 5.0 -- -- --                                           COTTONSEED OIL                                                                MFO 0.8 0.6 4.5 5.6                                                           GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 6.1 3.8 -- 6.3                                          LECITHIN --  2.7 3.1 --                                                       TOTAL PERCENT 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0                                    __________________________________________________________________________

    __________________________________________________________________________    EXAMPLES 111-114                                                                                   IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                             GENERIC INGREDIENTS  111 112  113 114                                         __________________________________________________________________________    ** NATURAL ELASTOMER **                                                         NATURAL GUM 15.7   22.6  22.2  21.1                                           ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                     STYRENE-BUTADIENE ELASTOMER 1.9 -- -- --                                      BUTYL (ISOPRENE-ISOBUTYLENE) 3.7 5.8 5.7 6.1                                  ELASTOMER                                                                     POLYISOBUTYLENE ELASTOMER 4.1 3.1 3.1 2.8                                     POLYVINYL ACETATE 26.2  20.4  22.0  18.0                                      ** ELASTOMER PLASTICIZERS **                                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF ROSIN -- -- -- 15.7                                        GLYCEROL ESTERS OF PART 15.3  11.7  15.2  --                                  HYD ROSIN                                                                     METHYL ESTERS OF ROSIN -- 4.0 -- --                                           TERPENE RESINS -- -- -- --                                                    ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE 12.2  11.6  11.4  --                                        TALC -- -- -- 15.4                                                            ** SOFTENER **                                                                HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL -- 2.0 -- 9.1                                     HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL 3.0 -- 6.2 --                                        PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN -- 15.0  -- --                                 AND PALM OIL                                                                  PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED 12.0  -- 6.0 --                                        COTTONSEED OIL                                                                MFO 0.1 0.5 4.9 6.0                                                           GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 5.8 3.3 3.3 5.8                                         LECITHIN --  -- -- --                                                         TOTAL PERCENT 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0                                    __________________________________________________________________________

    __________________________________________________________________________    EXAMPLES 115-119                                                                                  IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                              GENERIC INGREDIENTS 115 116 117 118 119                                       __________________________________________________________________________    ** NATURAL ELASTOMER **                                                         NATURAL GUM 23.8   18.7  14.4  18.2  25.2                                     ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                     STYRENE-BUTADIENE ELASTOMER -- -- -- -- --                                    BUTYL (ISOPRENE-ISOBUTYLENE) 3.1 6.0 9.1 6.8 2.4                              ELASTOMER                                                                     POLYISOBUTYLENE ELASTOMER 7.7 5.5 3.6 5.4 4.9                                 POLYVINYL ACETATE 20.5  14.8  18.1  15.5  19.9                                ** ELASTOMER PLASTICIZERS **                                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF ROSIN -- -- 11.9  -- 15.6                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF PART 10.4  15.5  13.0  12.7  --                            HYD ROSIN                                                                     METHYL ESTERS OF ROSIN 2.0 -- -- 2.6 --                                       TERPENE RESINS 5.1 -- -- -- 2.1                                               ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE -- 18.8  14.1  15.7  --                                     TALC 5.3 -- -- -- 7.1                                                         ** SOFTENER **                                                                HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL -- 6.5 7.0 -- --                                  HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL 7.9 -- -- 5.0 10.0                                   PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN -- -- 2.0 -- --                                AND PALM OIL                                                                  PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED -- -- -- 6.0 --                                        COTTONSEED OIL                                                                MFO 7.9 6.5 6.8 5.0 8.4                                                       GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 6.3 7.7 -- 7.1 4.4                                      LECITHIN --  -- -- -- --                                                      TOTAL PERCENT 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0                             __________________________________________________________________________

                  TABLE 14                                                        ______________________________________                                        WAX-FREE GUM BASES FOR USE IN BUBBLE GUM                                        (EXAMPLES 120-128)                                                            EXAMPLES 120-123                                                                                 IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                             GENERIC INGREDIENTS                                                                            120     121     122   123                                    ______________________________________                                        ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                       POLYISOBUTYLENE    17.1    11.7  11.6  5.4                                    ELASTOMER                                                                     POLYVINYL ACETATE 24.9  29.4  31.5  34.8                                    ** ELASTOMER PLASTICIZERS **                                                    GLYCEROL ESTERS OF ROSIN                                                                         6.8     10.7  19.8  16.3                                   GLYCEROL ESTERS OF PART -- -- -- --                                           HYD ROSIN                                                                     ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE -- -- -- 30.2                                               TALC 34.7  34.1  21.9  --                                                     ** SOFTENER **                                                                MFO 1.1 3.4 3.0 2.0                                                           GLYCEROL TRIACETATE 4.6 4.4 5.0 5.3                                           GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 5.8 4.3 4.9 3.9                                         ACETYLATED 5.0 2.0 2.3 2.1                                                    MONOGLYCERIDE                                                                 TOTAL PERCENT 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0                                    ______________________________________                                    

    __________________________________________________________________________    EXAMPLES 124-128                                                                                IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                                GENERIC INGREDIENTS                                                                             124 125 126 127 128                                         __________________________________________________________________________    ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                       POLYISOBUTYLENE ELASTOMER 7.9 13.0                                                                               7.9 11.6  11.8                             POLYVINYL ACETATE 34.2  37.1  34.2  37.8  35.6                                ** ELASTOMER PLASTICIZERS **                                                  GLYCEROL ESTERS OF ROSIN 14.8  -- -- -- --                                    GLYCEROL ESTERS OF PART -- 19.8  14.8  19.8  19.8                             HYD ROSIN                                                                     ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE 29.8  16.5  29.8  -- --                                     TALC -- -- -- 17.0  19.7                                                      ** SOFTENER **                                                                MFO 1.0 1.5 1.0 2.6 0.8                                                       GLYCEROL TRIACETATE 5.3 5.6 4.3 3.0 4.0                                       GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 4.0 6.5 5.0 3.2 2.3                                     ACETYLATED MONOGLYCERIDE 3.0 -- 3.0 5.0 6.0                                   TOTAL PERCENT 100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0                             __________________________________________________________________________

                                      TABLE 15                                    __________________________________________________________________________    WAX-FREE GUM BASES FOR USE IN CHEWING GUM                                       HAVING NON-TACK CHARACTERISTICS (EXAMPLES 129-                                140)                                                                        EXAMPLES 129-134                                                                                  IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                              GENERIC INGREDIENTS 129 130 131 132 133 134                                   __________________________________________________________________________    ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                       BUTYL (ISOPRENE-ISOBUTYLENE) --  -- -- 25.0  9.0 14.1                         ELASTOMER                                                                     POLYISOBUTYLENE 35.0  17.0  20.0  -- 16.9  12.1                               POLYVINYL ACETATE -- 17.0  30.0  5.0 22.8  20.8                               ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE 25.0  40.0  15.0  25.0  -- 13.9                             TALC -- -- -- -- 12.0  --                                                     ** SOFTENERS **                                                               HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL 5.0 -- 15.0  -- 14.8  7.7                            HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL 3.0 8.0 -- 15.0  14.0  10.0                       PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN 20.0  2.0 -- 15.0  -- 7.0                      AND PALM OIL                                                                  PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTON- -- 3.0 10.0  2.0 -- 6.7                        SEED OIL                                                                      MFO 2.0 5.0 5.0 8.0 8.8 4.0                                                   GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 10.0  -- 5.0 5.0 1.7 3.7                                LECITHIN -- 8.0 -- -- -- --                                                 __________________________________________________________________________

    __________________________________________________________________________    EXAMPLES 135-140                                                                                  IDENTIFICATION - EXAMPLES #:                              GENERIC INGREDIENTS 135 136 137 138 139 140                                   __________________________________________________________________________    ** SYNTHETIC ELASTOMER **                                                       BUTYL (ISOPRENE-ISOBUTYLENE) 16.0   9.9 9.9 10.0  10.0  13.3                  ELASTOMER                                                                     POLYISOBUTYLENE 10.0  15.5  15.5  15.9  15.9  21.2                            POLYVINYL ACETATE 19.0  22.0  22.0  21.7  21.6  29.1                          ** FILLER **                                                                  CALCIUM CARBONATE 5.0 12.9  12.9  13.3  -- 17.7                               TALC 10.0  -- -- -- 13.1  --                                                  ** SOFTENERS **                                                               HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL -- 14.0  9.0 3.3 13.5  6.1                           HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL -- 13.0  13.0  3.3 13.5  6.1                      PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN 6.0 -- 10.0  -- 3.0 2.0                        AND PALM OIL                                                                  PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTON- -- -- -- 9.8 -- --                             SEED OIL                                                                      MFO 32.0  10.0  5.0 20.0  6.8 3.2                                             GLYCEROL MONOSTEARATE 2.0 2.7 1.7 2.7 2.6 1.3                                 LECITHIN -- -- 1.0 -- -- --                                                 __________________________________________________________________________

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to thepresently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention andwithout diminishing its attendant advantages. It is therefore intendedthat such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A gum base comprising:an elastomer; and at least 0.02% byweight of meadowfoam seed oil.
 2. The gum base of claim 1 wherein thebase is wax-free.
 3. The gum base of claim 1 wherein the base isnon-tacky.
 4. The gum base of claim 1 wherein the base is a bubblegum-type base.
 5. The gum base of claim 1 wherein the meadowfoam seedoil is from the species Limnanthes alba.
 6. The gum base of claim 1wherein the meadowfoam seed oil is blended with at least one other basecomponent chosen from the group consisting of fats, oils and emulsifiersbefore it is added to the elastomer.
 7. The gum base of claim 1 whereinthe gum base does not include any non structured lipid saturatured fats.8. The gum base of claim 1 wherein the meadowfoam seed oil comprises notmore than 40% by weight of the base.
 9. The gum base of claim 1 whereinthe meadowfoam seed oil includes lipids of fatty acids in addition tocis-5-eicosenoic acid, cis-5-docosenoic acid, and erucic acid.
 10. Achewing gum formulation comprising:an insoluble gum base; a watersoluble portion; a flavor; and at least 0.01% by weight of a meadowfoamseed oil.
 11. The chewing gum formulation of claim 10 including at leastone softener chosen from the group consisting of: tallow; hydrogenatedtallow; hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils; cocoabutter; glycerol monostearate; glycerol triacetate; and lecithin. 12.The chewing gum formulation of claim 10 wherein the meadowfoam seed oilcomprise not more than 5% by weight of the chewing gum formulation. 13.The chewing gum formulation of claim 10 wherein the meadowfoam seed oilis preblended with a softener before being added to the insoluble gumbase.
 14. The chewing gum formulation of claim 10 wherein the meadowfoamseed oil is preblended with a flavor or color before it is added to theinsoluble gum base.
 15. The chewing gum formulation of claim 10 whereinthe formulation includes a bulk sweetener.
 16. The chewing gumformulation of claim 10 wherein the formulation includes a highintensity sweetener.
 17. The chewing gum formulation of claim 10 whereinthe formulation includes an emulsifier.
 18. The chewing gum formulationof claim 10 wherein the formulation includes an elastomer plasticizer.19. The chewing gum formulation of claim 10 wherein the formulationincludes an elastomer.
 20. The chewing gum formulation of claim 10wherein the formulation includes lecithin.
 21. A method for producingchewing gum comprising the step of substituting for a typicalplasticizer, in a chewing gum formulation, a meadowfoam seed oil fromthe plant genus Limnanthes.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein themeadowfoam seed oil comprise approximately 0.01% to about 5% by weightof the chewing gum formulation.
 23. A method for producing gum basecomprising the step of using meadowfoam seed oil in a gum baseformulation as a substitute for at least a portion of conventionalsaturated triglycerides that are typically used in gum base.